Sports

Basketball: Sykes Named to C-USA All-Defensive Team

Junior led C-USA in steals.

A day after receiving all-league first team honors, UCF men’s basketball standout Isaiah Sykes was selected to the Conference USA All-Defensive Team Tuesday. The junior was one of five conference players to earn a spot on the squad.

Sykes, who helped UCF record its third-straight 20-win campaign, has developed into one of the top perimeter defenders in the country. He averaged 2.3 steals per game in both league play and overall games to pace C-USA and rank 19th in the nation in the category.

A Detroit native, Sykes registered 72 steals, good for seventh on the UCF single-season list. The guard helped the Knights limit opponents to only 30.5 percent shooting from deep in conference play, the lowest mark in C-USA.

Sykes is the third UCF player to garner C-USA All-Defensive Team honors, joining Keith Clanton (2011-12) and Dave Noel (2007-08).